Denver
by MrLoonSalvatore
Summary: Sequel of sorts to JerBear Vs. Klausy. Marvel is seventeen, and her boyfriend, Samuel Simmons, invites her to go to Denver with him and his brother, Derek. Damon decides to be the protective parent.


**Title: **Denver  
**Rating:** K+  
**Summary: **Sequel of sorts to JerBear Vs. Klausy. Marvel is seventeen, and her boyfriend, Samuel Simmons, invites her to go to Denver with him and his brother, Derek. Damon decides to be the protective parent.

* * *

Damon shook his head for the umpteenth time. "No means no, Marvel. You're not going to Denver with Sam and that's that."

The teenager frowned and sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing an apple from the wooden bowl with one hand and tucking her chocolate brown hair behind her ear with the other. "Why not? You let me go to California with them last summer. Why is Denver any different?"

Elena came down the stairs moments later, only hearing the last bit of the conversation. "Why is Denver any different than what?"

"Marvel wants to go to Denver with Sam and Derek. And I said no. And now she's comparing it to California." He rolled his eyes and shook his head before grabbing his own apple from the bowl. "Denver and California are two very different places."

Elena laughed and shook her head. "The only thing I remember about Denver is that Stefan wasn't there, the details are a bit foggy."

"You went to Denver? When?" Marvel took a bite out of the apple as she looked between them.

Damon glanced at Elena, giving her every opportunity to stop him before he started to explain. "Well, when your mother and I went to Denver, about eighteen years ago, your Uncle Jeremy walked in on a very... _intimate_ moment, and-"

"Wait, so, you mean, Uncle Jer _walked in _on you guys? Gross!"

Elena bit her lip and backed out of the room. "I'll let your father make the decision on this one."

A soft sigh left Damon's lips as he returned his gaze to his seventeen year old daughter. "Fine. You may go to Denver. But only if you promise to call home every night. Got it?"

She nodded eagerly and stood, putting her arms around her father's neck. "Thank you; thank you; thank you! I love you, daddy!"

* * *

Marvel frowned at her cell phone screen. She was three hours from leaving for the airport and Sam couldn't even go? There was _no way _she was spending a week alone with Derek. Especially not when the _only reason _she was allowed to go on the trip in the first place was because she wouldn't be alone with him.

"Stupid Mikaelsons," she muttered as she walked through the front door. "And their need to have a ball. It's Uncle Kol's fault!"

Damon peeked out from the kitchen. "What's Kol's fault?"

"Everything! If he hadn't gotten mad at Uncle 'Lijah, Derek wouldn't have felt the need to "protect me". I mean, I get it, you of all people understand how violent Uncle Kol can get, and-"

"Marvel," he interrupted. "Slow down. I can't think as fast as I used to. Now, start at the beginning."

She nodded and plopped down on the couch, looking up at him as she spoke. "Derek tried to make Uncle Kol leave Elijah alone, and then I just wanted him to back off so he wouldn't get hurt, and he accused Kol of hurting me, which he hasn't, and he never has. And then Derek said he loved me and I said that's the problem and-"

Damon's eyes widened as he interrupted her. "I'm gonna go get your mom."

* * *

Elena pushed Damon out of the living room a few minutes later, warning him to not listen in, and sat down next to her daughter. "What seems to be the problem, Marvel?"

"Can we not say that word ever again?" She ran her fingers through her hair before continuing. "Derek told me he loved me."

Her mother sighed and put an arm around her shoulders. "Did I ever tell you how I met your father?"

Marvel shook her head, her blue eyes shining with curiosity. "No, you always said it was too long for a bedtime story."

Elena nodded and laughed quietly. "Well, it's not. I was dating your Uncle Stefan at the time-"

"You and Uncle Stefanie?" The teen raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Mom, that's gross."

A short, playful glare was sent her way. "That's not what I, or anyone else for that matter, thought at the time. Your father told me he loved - and still loves - me three times before I finally admitted that I felt something for him too. The first time was when I got back from a trip with Uncle Elijah. I'd lost my necklace, and he gave it back. The second time was when Tyler..." Elena paused, trying to think of something probable. "Gave him rabies. He-"

"How did Tyler give him rabies? Can't only animals have rabies? Last I checked, Tyler's not a werewolf."

Elena held back a laugh and took a deep breath before continuing. "Your father was very sick. And I stayed with him while Stefan talked to Klaus, because he supposedly had a miracle cure. I was so afraid that he was going to die..."

"But he didn't, clearly. And you still have one more story to tell."

The doppelganger smiled down at her daughter and nodded. "I do. It was at the very first ball that the Mikaelsons threw, and we were arguing. I asked if he was mad because me and Stefan planned something without him, but he told me he was mad at me because he loves me. And I was that idiot who replied with "well, maybe that's the problem." And it wasn't a problem at all, let alone _the_ problem. The problem was that I loved him back, and I was afraid of how I felt. His love... It consumed me. It was passionate. It was adventurous. It was dangerous. And that's exactly what I wanted. I just didn't realize it until we went to Denver a week later."

Marvel grinned and jumped up, jogging up the stairs two at a time and calling over her shoulder. "Thanks mom! You really helped a lot!"

* * *

"She's not going." Damon said decisively.

"I don't see why she can't go," Elena reasoned. "We had a _wonderful_ time in Denver."

"And that's exactly why! She doesn't have a Jeremy to cockblock her!"

Elena laughed and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "But that was when I finally accepted how I feel about you. And she loves Derek-"

"Derek? Bad boy Derek? The Derek who kidnapped her and took her to Georgia for a weekend? That Derek?"

"Someone's being hypocritical." Elena laughed again. "You took me to Georgia. And aren't you constantly complaining about how she's going around saying she'll _always_ love Sam? Derek is... Derek is twenty three year old you. And I know from experience that twenty three year old you is _very_ protective. He won't let any vampires with baseball bats get to her."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Until she has a stand in Jeremy, I'm not letting her go with _anyone_ to Denver. Especially not _alone _with twenty three year old me."

Marvel bounded into the kitchen. "It's been five minutes now. Can I _please_ go?"

Elena's eyes widened hopefully as she looked up at Damon, who was currently shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm saying this. _Yes, _you can go to Denver with your boyfriend's older brother." Marvel grinned and moved forward to hug him, freezing when he continues. "_On one condition_. You have to bring Jeremy."


End file.
